Shelley with Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith
in a promo pic for Charlie's Angels, 1979
Shelley became Angel no. 5 in 1979 when she joined the cast of Charlie's Angels. Shelley was already a Supermodel when she joined the hit TV series and was known worldwide as THE Charlie Girl in those Revlon Charlie TV commercials and print ads. She auditioned, went though a screen test, and even a personality test; but what really got her the part, it seems, was the headline "THE Charlie Girl becomes Charlie's newest Angel" which was going through Angels exec producer Aaron Spelling's head as he was choosing TV's latest cherub. Also, Shelley had good rapport with her new co-Angels Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn; and the three photographed really well together. When Shelley's debut episode "Love Boat Angels" aired, it topped the Nielsen ratings.
Shelley in a promo pic
for Charlie's Angels, 1979
But after three episodes at the top 10, the ratings began descending to the 20s, then to the 30s. And the "disappointing" season was unfairly blamed on Shelley and everything from her acting, her attitude, her voice and even her hair were cited as the reason for the show's slip - and everybody jumped on that bandwagon. The verdict: she was let go at the end of the season. Spelling-Goldberg Productions issued the statement, "When she signed her contract for the series, Miss Hack had a personal agreement that she could review her continuation with the show at the end of her first season since series television represented an enormous change in her career and lifestyle." The statement further said, "In case Miss Hack decides not to come back next season on a regular basis, she has agreed to do several guest-star appearances on the show." (FYI: In spite of everything, in the Nielsen ratings, the fourth season of Charlie's Angels still finished within TV's top 20 shows of 1979 - which wasn't bad for a show that had been on the air for 4 seasons.)
Shelley with Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith
on a the cover of AFN TV-Guide, 1980
